Ongoing Events:
1. Cookin': A Sizzling Entertainment, "a fast-paced kitchen percussion show combining comedy, rhythm, and non-verbal performance," at the Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane (212.420.8000).
2. Beer Garden at the Brooklyn Historical Society, every Friday, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., through August 27, at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn. The Beer Garden is part of "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall," an exhibition on the history of brewing in Brooklyn, on view through October 16 (718.222.4111).

"You don’t collect and cook recipes, or compile dining experiences like a butterfly collector," taunts Anthony Bourdain in the introduction to his new book, Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook. "You must enjoy what you’re doing. If there is any real sin in the culinary universe, it is the sin of snobbery. If you’re afraid of a little grease on your chin, of eating with your hands, are squeamish about bones, fish heads, guts, are ambivalent about garlic, are too precious with your food, then buy another cookbook."

With this new cookbook, due out in stores in October 2004, the swaggering chef, mystery writer, and historian provides a guide to making the classic bistro dishes served at Brasserie Les Halles, where he is executive chef. The book will include more than 100 recipes -- from roasted veal short ribs and steak frites to boeuf bourgignon -- infused with his irreverent, take-no-prisoners philosophy of cooking and dining. As Mr. Bourdain's official Web site warns: "You’ll feel like he’s in the kitchen beside you — reeling off a few insults when you’ve scorched the sauce, and then patting you on the back for finally getting the steak tartare right."

Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook (Bloomsbury; $34.95) will be published in October 2004. Copies may be pre-ordered at amazon.com.

Ongoing Events:
1. Cookin': A Sizzling Entertainment, "a fast-paced kitchen percussion show combining comedy, rhythm, and non-verbal performance," at the Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane (212.420.8000).
2. Beer Garden at the Brooklyn Historical Society, every Friday, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., through August 27, at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn. The Beer Garden is part of "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall," an exhibition on the history of brewing in Brooklyn, on view through October 16 (718.222.4111).

As much as I enjoy eating grilled food, the grilling theme presents a major challenge to the city dwelling cook. When you live on the sixth floor of an apartment building without any access to outdoor grilling space, there are three grilling alternatives available:

In response to a question about what kind of cheese to use to make great macaroni and cheese, Mr. Jenkins went on a riff about grilled cheese sandwiches (noting, "you asked me about mac and cheese but my brain read grilled cheese"):

I am particularly partial to the grilled cheese sandwich my wife and I raised our boy Max on: Open-faced slice of bread spread with sweet butter or olive oil liberally sprinkled with grated Parmigiano Reggiano, placed horizontally in the toaster oven until the Parm bubbles, cut into triangles. I am equally smitten by the conventional closed-face grilled cheese sandwich using sourdough or rye or whole-grain slices and shredded mountain cheeses such as the following spectaculars: Beaufort from Savoie, Fontina d'Aosta from Aosta, Comte from Franche-Comte, raclette cheese from either of these two regions, any Basque sheep's milk cheese (Erhaki, Matocq, Ossau-Iraty, Etorki, Prince de Claverolles), Roncal from Navarra. Certainly Swiss Gruyere or Emmental or Appenzeller figure, though they're way down my preference list. Also Asiago from the Veneto, Majorero (unlike the rest of these, Majorero from Fuenteventura in the Canaries is NOT a raw milk cow's milk cheese, but is a raw milk goat's milk cheese), Sao Jorge (St. George, a sharp cow's cheese from the Portuguese Azores).

I have to admit to being pretty simple in my taste for grilled cheese sandwiches. I rarely eat them, but when I do, the filling is usually a few slices of cheddar. But, after reading Mr. Jenkins' comments, a whole new world opened to me.

I considered using Comté, but in a taste test before purchasing, Beaufort, which has a distinctly nutty, tangy, and sweet flavor, was the superior cheese. At $20 a pound, this was an extravagant choice (double the price of Comté). In the end, it worked out to about $2.50 a sandwich (two ounces per) -- at least this was less than what you would spend in a restaurant.

I followed Mr. Jenkins' instructions on how to make the sandwich, starting with sourdough bread ("Both sides of the bread are spread with sweet butter"), to which I added slices of an amazingly ripe, purple-red heirloom tomato ("occasionally a slice of tomato") and grated Beaufort ("the cheese is always shredded, not place aboard in slices"). I skipped his addition of hot sauce and sprinkled the sandwich with freshly ground pepper before placing it in the panini press.

The nutty and sweet Beaufort, which melted from a pile of shreds into a single layer of molten cheese, contrasted with the cool, fresh sliced tomato and the textural crunch of the toasted bread. This may be the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. Beaufort will break the bank, but there's no turning back to cheddar.

BEFORE AND AFTER Beaufort from Savoie and heirloom tomatoes (below) are the main ingredients in an extravagant grilled cheese sandwich (above).

Ongoing Events:
1. Cookin': A Sizzling Entertainment, "a fast-paced kitchen percussion show combining comedy, rhythm, and non-verbal performance," at the Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane (212.420.8000).
2. Beer Garden at the Brooklyn Historical Society, every Friday, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., through August 27, at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn. The Beer Garden is part of "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall," an exhibition on the history of brewing in Brooklyn, on view through October 16 (718.222.4111).

Founded in 1946, Bridge Kitchenware is the ultimate cook's resource. Stocked floor to ceiling with nearly every cooking tool imaginable, including a particularly large supply of bakeware, it is the "go-to" cookware store when you need something unique, such as a blini pan or a madeleine mold.

Bridge Kitchenware’s dusty, workmanlike atmosphere stands in direct contrast to slick kitchen supply superstores such as Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table. Walking around the shop's narrow aisles, you might mistake it for an old hardware store. Seemingly ancient wooden drawers contain a stash of arcane molds and utensils. Were it not for the shelves stocked with the latest cooking appliances or the walls lined with the popular orange silicone bakeware, you might think that the shop is intact from the 1940s. Follow the link below for more photos from a recent visit.